Ericsson, Telstra claim unregenerated optical transmission record

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and Australian incumbent carrier Telstra say they have demonstrated unregenerated optical transmission of 10,358 km on a link running between Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth. The demonstration, which set the stage for inauguration of 100-Gbps services between Sydney and Perth, is a world record, the parties assert.

The fiber-optic network transmission demonstration, as well as the new commercial link, leverage the WaveLogic 3 optical processor from Ericsson optical partner Ciena (NYSE:CIEN; see "Ericsson, Ciena pair on packet-optical transport, SDN development" and "Ericsson/Ciena venture succeeds with Telstra").

The ability to transmit optical wavelengths across such distances without regeneration significantly reduces latency, according to Telstra and Ericsson. It also improves network resiliency, as it enables traffic to be re-routed over the extreme distances common in Australia. Telstra therefore can provide higher guarantees within its service-level agreements.

"This new optical technology enables Telstra to provide Australia's lowest latency link between Sydney and Perth – key access points critical for Trans-Australian and international telecommunications," explained David Robertson, director, transport and routing engineering at Telstra. This high-performance link provides Telstra's customers differentiation for applications which require high-speed and low latency, such as financial trading or cloud-based offerings."

While they were at it, Telstra and Ericsson also successfully demonstrated the transmission of 200-Gbps wavelengths between Melbourne and Sydney using Ciena's WaveLogic Extreme technology.

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer's Guide.